thinking ahead to winter (wheels and tires)

I emailed four relatively local dealerships last night, using their online parts info request form. As of this evening, I have heard back from.......NONE. Maybe they're just busy. Here's what I asked:



I recently bought a pre-owned 2012 Prius C (trim level 4). In anticipation of this coming winter, I am looking to purchase four OEM steel wheels on which I can mount snow tires. The tires on the car right now are 195-50-16, but I understand I can use 15” or 16” wheels. I would like to get a total best price from you on four steel wheels (4 lug) either with standard valves or no valves (I do not want to deal with TPMS for these winter use only tires).

Thanks.

I'll be curious to see if I ever get a reply from any of them. Yes, I could call, but I figured this way they'd have time to actually think about a reply before responding. Well, maybe they're still thinking.

 

So I think I've found four 15" OEM steel wheels off a salvaged 2012 Prius C that I can get for about $50 ea. I'll probably grab 'em. I'm trying to decide on the best size tire to go on them. Looking at the calculator on this site the closest to my existing 195-50-16 tires seems to be something like a 185-60-15. Or should I not be that concerned about staying as close to the same overall size as what I have now? I'm thinking of speedometer/odometer readings mostly.

 

Well, I've also found 4 nearly new 185-60-15 Bridgestone Blizzack that I can get for a good price, so I'm trying to take advantage of off-season deals, too.

Cyclopathic, I didn't see the new ones at Amazon for nearly the same price.

 

Okay, let's go back to the wheels for the time being. Am I reading the specs on these correctly from Amazon?

For $45 each shipped, it seems like a no-brainer. But the picture shows 10 holes and the description says it has 8. The description also says 4x100, 6" width, 41mm offset. That all seems okay and seems like they would be fine for the 185-65-15 tires I'm looking at.

 

Thanks for the reply. Funny, the ones you linked to are the same ones I tried to link to (my link didn't work). I was talking about the lug holes, not the decorative holes. But I asked the seller and I received this reply: "This wheel has 2 different 4-lug patterns (4-100 and 4-4.5), for a total of 8 holes. The picture is just a stock photo of this model, not this exact wheel."

But it still troubles me a little that Amazon's car matching system says "this will not fit your 2012 Prius C." Seems to me like they would work just fine and at $45 ea. shipped, that's hard to beat. The only advantage to the ones off the salvage Prius I found are that they are OEM off a Prius. I haven't seen them, but there's bound to be some rust since it's a 2012, and I'd have to pay to have the tires dismounted. Why buy used off a salvage when I can buy generic new for even less money? I know I'll have to get lug nuts, but I'm sure I can get the proper size and thread pitch at a lot of places.

As for TPMS, I'm planning on just having regular valves installed and ignoring the TPMS light on the dash (covering it with tape or something) for the four months the winter wheels and tires would be on the car.

 

One more thing. Do you think there's any good reason for me to be considering 16" instead of 15"? I have the 16" on my car now, being a Trim Level 4. Frankly, I just figured 15" would be less expensive for wheels and tires. Any advantage or disadvantage of one over the other when it comes to winter tires or does it not make any difference?

Thanks.

 

I still haven't heard back from any of the dealers about Prius rim pricing. So I just called and was quoted $122.29 ea. I'll buy them off the salvage for less than half that if I really need OEM. How would I get info about hub opening diameter or whether I'd require spacer rings?

I know a shop won't mount non-TPMS wheels and tires on a car with TPMS, but if I just go in with a wheel and tire off the car, I see no reason why they wouldn't mount and balance them. I can put them on the car myself.

 

Ahhh..this is why this forum is so valuable. I hadn't even considered spacers or the need for them, because I didn't even know about them. But now I can see where it's an important factor. This YouTube video was very helpful. One more thing leaning in favor of the OEMs from the salvage. Thanks.

 

Good to know. Thanks.

What's really sad is that if what you're saying is true about not easily finding someone to mount tires onto wheels without TPMS, I'd actually consider taking my chances running my regular wheels and tires year round and just driving really carefully in the winter. The potential hassle (and cost) of a semi-annual switchover is starting to wear me down.

 

So if the OEM steel wheels off the salvage have TPMS sensors (I'm sure they do), and I just have the OEM tires removed and I have new snow tires mounted, the dealership will have to program them every time I switchover from one to the other?

Looks like I might be saving some money after all....and probably working from home a lot this coming winter.

 

Well, I just got back from picking up the OEM 15" steelies off the 2012 Prius at the salvage yard. While I was there I also grabbed a pristine left taillight to replace the one I cracked a few weeks ago. The wheels are in very nice shape. Not nearly new, but I didn't expect that. And they do have TPMS sensors and valves on them. In addition to removing the few balancing weights still on them, I had been figuring I'd just remove the TPMS sensors and replace with normal valves when I have new tires mounted. But now you have me wondering. If I'm understanding correctly, my options are:

1. Keep these TPMS valves and sensors on the wheels and have them programmed for my car and re-programmed every time I swap wheels (twice a year).

2. Remove these TPMS sensors/valves and have the installer use normal valves when I have tires mounted and balanced onto these wheels (assuming I can find a shop that will do it).

Clearly #1 is the more costly of the two, but #2 may not even be an option unless I can find someone to do it. Do I have that about right or are there other options I'm not thinking of?